Justifier for typewriters



Dec. 13; 1949 COUDEN 2,491,163

JUSTIFIER FOR TYPEWRITERS Filed May 10, 1946 4 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Dec.13, 1949 E. R. COUDEN 2,491,163

JUSTIFIER FOR TYPEWRITERS Filed May 10, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 PatentedDec. 13, 1949 JUSTIFIER FOR rvrewnrrnns Earl R. Couden, Chicago, 111.,assignor to Henry Hildehrandt, Chicago, Ill.

Application May 10, 1946, Serial No. 668,958

13 Claims.

This invention relates to justifiers for typewriters for adjustablyregulating relative movement between the step by step escapementmechanism and the carriage of the typewriter to make possible the typingof even right hand margins as well as left hand margins.

This invention is directed to improvements over the typewriter justifiershown and described in Szego et al. Patent No. 2,307,339, issued January5, 1943, wherein the typewriter carriage is separate from the rack barof the step by step escapement mechanism and the justifier adjustablyregulates relative movement therebetween. The justifier includes asupport mounted on the car riage, a shuttle plate provided with aninclined slot and reciprocatingly guided on the support and operativelysecured to the rack bar of the escapement mechanism, a carrier pivotallymounted on the support and rotated upon movement of the carriage, and anactuator adjustably positioned on the carrier and located in the slot.When the carrier is positioned midway in the slot, no relative motionbetween the rack bar and the carriage is produced but when the carrieris displaced in one direction or the other, the carriage is relativelypositioned in one direction or another with respect to the rack bar asthe typewriter is operated and the amount of relative movement dependsupon the extent of displacement. In this way more or less letters may beplaced in a given typewritten line to form even right hand margins onthe typewritten sheet.

However, there are certain disadvantages in the justifier of the Szegoet a1. patent. The indicating means for indicating the extent ofadjustment is not readily discernable, the manner of guiding the shuttleplate is crude and inaccurate, suincient adjustment is not readilyattainable, there is no provision for indicating center or zeroadjustment, considerable lost motion and inaccuracies are presentbetween the movable parts which prevents accurate control, it isextremely difiicult to obtain even left hand margins, commercialproduction in quantity is practically impossible, and adaptation totypewriters is difficult.

The principal object of this invention is to provide improvements in atypewriter justifier of this type wherein the above disadvantages areentirely eliminated. In carrying out this object of the invention thesupport is provided with a guide frame upon which the shuttle plate isreciprocatingly mounted by a sleeve and rod arrangement to provide fortrue straight line operation and the ad justment indicating means arecarried by the guide frame and shuttle plate. The shuttle plate is alsoprovided with a zero or center indicator cooperating with the actuator.A transparent cover is provided to provide for ease of adjustment. Theslot in the shuttle plate is elongated to provide a wide range ofadjustment. The actuator is adjustably positioned by the screw of thecarrier through a set screw which may be adjusted to minimize lostmotion therebetween and prevent creeping during the operation of thetypewriter. The actuator is provided with a roller working in the slotfor ease of operation. The carrier is rotated by a gear segment meshingwith a worm gear to obtain proper gear reduction and the gear segment isadjustably mounted on the carrier to prevent binding and minimize lostm0- tion for ease and accuracy of operation. j

A. back lash spring is provided to eliminate the effects of any lostmotion still remaining. The sleeve bearing for the worm gear is held inplace by a strap for accurate location thereof. A novel chain andsprocket arrangement is provided for rotating the carrier through thegearing upon movement of the carriage so that the use of bars and thethreading of a chain through the typewriter are eliminated. In thislatter connection a spring biased drum for the chain is provided and thechain may be of the beaded type. An adjustable cleat for securing theshuttle plate to the rack bar and an adjustable stop for limitingrotation of the carrier are provided for compensating the bank of thetypewriter and assuring even left hand margins as well as right handmargins on the typewritten page. A reinforced racket is also providedfor attaching the support to the typewriter carriage for eliminatinginaccuracies.

Further objects of this invention reside in the details of con tructionof the various improvements by which the principal object of thisinvention is attained.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled inthe art upon reference to the accompanying specification, claims, anddrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the rear of atypewriter with the justifier applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the justifierin association with the step by step escapement mechanism of thetypewriter;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view partly in section of the rack bar andadjustable cleat;

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the reinforced mounting bracket for thejustifier;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the justifier;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view thereof;

mounted on the guide frame.

Fig. 12 is an exploded view showing the parts of the spring biased drum.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, a typewriter, such as a standard L. C.Smith typewriter, is shown at I6. It includesthe usual carriage H whichis positioned by a step by step escapement mechanism including theescapement means I2 and a rack bar i3. Conventional release bars M aresecured to the carriage H of the typewriter by screws l5 which, inaccordance with this invention, extend through slots H3 in the rack bar:l3so that lost motion is provided between the rack bar [3 and thecarriage I i.

The rack bar it is provided with an extension H for operation by theshuttle plate of the justifier' i 8which in turn is secured to thetypewriter 'carriage ll by'a reinforced bracket it. "tleplate inthetypewriter justiiier is operated 'The shutthrough the mechanismtherein by a pulley or chain sprocket wheel operated by a chain 2|. Oneend of the chain 2! is suitably secured to a stationary portion of thetypewriter frame by a screw 22 and the other end of the chain 2| issecured to a spring biased drum 23. The shuttle plate in the typewriterjustifier is provided with extensions 26 for operation in conjunctionwith therack bar l3.

The'justifier 58 provides the connection between the rack bar E3 of theescapernent mechanism "and the carriage l i and as the rack bar [3moves, the justifier causes movement of the carriage ll and inaccordance'with the setting of the justifier relative movement betweenthe carriage and "the rack bar is adjustably controlled.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 5, 6,

9 and 10, the J'ustifier 18 includes a support or housing provided witha back wall 27 and side wal1s'28. The support also is provided with fourbosses or posts 2% to which are secured a guide frame 36 by means ofscrews 3 i. The guide frame "30 is rectangular in shape and is open inthe center. Secured to the guide frame 38 are brackets 32 carrying twopairs of supports 33 for supporting a'pair of spaced parallel guide rods34. The guide rods 34 are held in place in the supports 33 'by means ofscrews 35.

A shuttle plate 3? carries a pair of sleeves 38WhiCh ride along theparallel guide rods so that the shuttle plate 3'! is reciprocatingly Theshuttle plate 3'! is provided with an elongated, inclined slot 39 whichextends beyond the mounting sleeves 38. The shuttle plate 3? is providedwith an indicator 40 which is held in place thereon by a screw ii.

The indicator 4B cooperates with indicia on a scale plate 42 provided atits ends with slots 43 for thereception of screws 'l for securing thescale plate '42 to the guide frame 38. The slots 43 in the guide plate42 permit factory adjustment of the scale plate to the proper indicatingposition. The .shuttle plate 31 carries the extensions 24 whichcooperate with the extension I? of the rack bar A sleeve bearing 4'5 issecured to the back wall 21 of: the "support by means of screws-48, andmounted for rotation in the-sleeve bearing 47 is .screw53 withrespect tothe cars 52. '53-'is provided with an extension 58 and a knob "5'! forrotating the screw. The extension 56 op a shaft 49 carrying a carrierEll, the shaft 49 and carrier 56 being held in place in the sleevebearing 4'! by means of a nut 5i and associated washer. The pivotallymounted carrier 59 is provided with a pair of cars 52 for receiving ascrew 53. The screw 53 is provided with a shoulder 54 and a nut 55 forpreventing longitudinal movement of the The screw crates within a slot58 provided in the upper wall 21 of the support or housing.

An actuator in the form of a block 60 encompasses the screw 53 and isguided against rotation It is provided with a pin 6! for carrying aroller 62 which operates in the inclined slot 39 in the shuttle plate3?. A set screw 63 extends through the actuator block 59 into the screwthread of the screw 53 so that upon rotation of the screw 53longitudinal movement is imparted to the actuator 83. By adjusting theset screw 63' the threaded connection between the screw 53 and theactuator block Eli may be adjusted to elimi- 51 through which extendscrews 68 for adjustably securing the gear segment 66 to the plate andhence to the carrier 55 The purpose of this adjustable connection forthe gear segment 56 is to line it up with the operating worm "If! so asto provide minimum lost motion without binding between the parts.

The worm I'll is secured to one end of a shaft and the other end thereofcarries a bevel gear H.

A sleeve bearin '22, located between the worm l0 and bevel gear llmounts the shaft for rotation and the sleeve bearing 12 is provided witha pair of shouldersiZ.

The sleeve bearing 12 fits within the cavity 14 in the back wall 21 ofthe support or housing and is held in placed therein by a strap 15which, in turn, is secured to the support or housing by screws 76. Thestrap (5 clamps the sleeve bearing 72 in place and it cooperates'withthe shoulders or flanges 73 on the sleeve bearin for preventinglongitudinal shifting thereof. In this way accurate centering andlocation of the sleeve bearing 72 is provided.

The bevel gear'lfl meshes with the bevel gear ll and is mounted on ashaft 19 carrying a clutch element 80. .The shaft "I9 is journaled forrotation in the support or housing by a sleeve bearing 8| secured to thehousing by screws 82. A complementary clutch element 83 is secured tothe sprocket wheel 20, both of which are rotatably "mounted on anextension of the shaft 19 so that when the clutch elements 8?) and 83are disengaged, rotation of the sprocket wheel or pulley 26 will notcause rotation of the gear 78 but when the clutch elements 88 and 83 arein engagement, rotation is imparted to the gear 78.

A circumferential channel is provided between 'the clutch element 83 andthe sprocket wheel 20 for receiving the bifurcated end of an arm 84which is in turn secured by a nut 85 to an actuating rod 86. The rod 36is journaled in lugs 87 formed on the support or housing and betweenthese lugs the rod 86 carries a spring retainer 88. One end of a coilspring 39 abuts the retainer 88 and the other end abuts one of the lugs87 so that the spring 89 operates to maintain the clutch elements and83in engagement. The rod 86 is provided with a knob or button 99 which,when depressed, operates against the action of the spring 89 to separatethe clutch elements 89 and 83. Upon release of the button 99 the spring89 engages the clutch elements 80 and 93.

The sprocket wheel 20 is preferably provided circumferentially with aplurality of holes 92 con nected by the restricted passages 93 forreceiving the beaded chain 2!. By reason of this particularconstruction, lost motion between the chain 2I and the sprocket wheel 29is entirely eliminated so that a positive drive of the sprocket wheel 29by the beaded chain 2! is provided.

The spring biased drum assembly is illustrated in exploded fashion inFig. 12 and it includes a base 95 and stud 9%), the base 95 beingsecured to the back wall 21 of the housing or support by means of screws91. The end of the stud portion 96 is provided with a rectangular slot98 and a tapped hole 99 for receiving a screw I99. The drum properincludes two parts, IIiI and I62, which are held together by the screwI99. The two parts also enclose a spiral spring I03. The outer end ofthe spring I93 is provided with a slot I94 for engagement on an ear I95formed inwardly of the member IE2 and the inner end of the spring IE3 isprovided with a slot I96 for engagement with a lug Iii? carried by acollar I98. The collar is provided with a rectangular extension I69which fits into the rectangular slot 98 of the stud 96 and is heldagainst rotation thereby.

When the parts of the spring drum are assembled, the inner end of thespring is held against rotation and the outer end is secured to the drumso that the drum may be wound against the action of the spring toprovide tension for the beaded chain 2|. The outer flange of the springdrum is provided with a slotted ear H9 for securing one end of thebeaded chain 2| thereto.

Adjacent the left hand end of the slot 58 in the upper wall of thehousing, there is provided an adjustable stop comprising a clip IIIwhich is clamped to the housing by a screw H2. The screw I I2 extendsthrough a slot I I3 in the housing so that the clip III may beadjustably positioned. The adjustable stop III is provided for thepurpose of lining up the screw 53 with the inclined slot 3t when thetypewriter carriage is moved to the right hand position in preparationfor the typing of a new line.

The carrier 59, as shown in Fig. 11 is provided with an ear M5 forreceiving one end of a tension spring I H, the other end of which isconnected to a projection IIG formed in the back wall 21 of the support.The'tension spring II'i operates to bias all of the movable parts withinthe justifier in one direction so as to eliminate lost motion and backlash therebetween. In this way the accuracy of the justifier ismaterially enhanced.

The movable parts within the justifier are encased by a transparentcover II9 which may be made of plastic. The cover II9 has side walls I28which engage the side walls of the support so as to close the same.However, no side wall is provided at the bottom of the cover asindicated at I2I in Fig. 9, for the purpose of permitting longitudinalmovement of the extensions 2% of the shuttle plate 3'5. The cover H9 isheld in place by screws I22 threaded into the guide frame 39. Thetransparent cover provides ready inspection of the parts encased thereinand greatly facilitates the manipulation of the parts andpermits readyvisual access to the indicators therein.

The shuttle plate 31 midway between the length of the slot 39 isprovided with an indicating mark I25 which cooperates with the roller 62of the actuator to indicate when the justifier parts are set for thezero or center positions. When the parts are in that position norelative movement is provided between the support and the shuttle plate31.

One of the side walls 28 of the support is provided with mounting lugsI24 having tapped holes I25 which correspond with holes I25 in themounting bracket I9 so that the mounting bracket I9 may be readilysecured to the justifier support by means of screws. The mountingbracket I9 is provided with a flange I21 which in turn has holes I28 sothat the mounting bracket may be mounted on the carriage II of thetypewriter by the screws which are normally located on the typewriter inthose positions. It is necessary that the justifier be rigidly securedto the typewriter carriage to prevent inaccuracies from creeping in andin this respect the mounting bracket I9 is provided with a reinforcingridge IZt which prevents flexing of the mounting bracket I9 in anydirection.

The extensions 24 of the shuttle plate 31 are operatively connected tothe extension I! of the rack bar I3 by an adjustable cleat having twotelescoping parts I31 and I32 provided with slots I33 for receiving ascrew I34 threaded into a nut I35. By reason of this screw and slotarrangement the spacing between the telescoping elements I3! and I32 maybe adjusted to accommodate the extensions 24. The telescoping'membersI3I and I32 are also provided with slots I36 for receiving screws I31threaded into the exten sion IT so that the position of the adjustablecleat may be longitudinally adjusted on the extension I1. By reason ofthis construction, lost motion in the connection between the rack bar I3and the shuttle plate 31 may be eliminated and the exact position of theshuttle plate 31 with respect to the rack bar I3 may be determined. Thisadjustable cleat connection is extremely important in installing thejustifier on the typewriter for it is necessary to compensate for theusual bank of the typewriter.

This adjustable cleat connection between the rack bar I3 and the shuttleplate 31 and the adjustable stop I I I are so adjusted upon installationof the justifier that the screw 53 is in exact alignment with theinclined slot 39 when the typewriter carriage is moved to the right handposition ready for typing the first letter of a new line and it is byreason of these adjustments initially made that it is possible to obtaina straight left hand margin as well as a straight right hand margin onthe typed sheet.

While for purposes of illustration one form of this invention has beendisclosed, other forms thereof may become apparent to those skilled inthe art upon reference to this disclosure and, therefore, this inventionis to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapement mechanism and the carriageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to thecarriage, a guide frame carried by the support, a shuttle plate providedwith an inclined slot and reciprocatingly guided by ;the;-guideframe:andoperatively secured to the escapement mechanism, a carrierpivotally mounted on the support, means for rotating the carrier uponmovement of the carriage, an actuator adjustably positioned on thecarrier and located in the slot, indicia on the guide frame, .and anindicator on the shuttle plate.

2. 'In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably ;regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapement mechanism and the carriageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to the;carriage, a guide frame carried :by the support, a shuttle plateprovided with zanginclinedgslot and-reciprocatingly guided by :theaguideframeand operatively secured to the iescapement mechanism, a carrierpivotally amounted on the support, means for rotating the .carrier uponmovement of the carriage, an actuator adjustably positioned on thecarrier and located in the slot, and an indicator on the shuttle platecoacting with the actuator for indicating the center position of theactuator in the slot.

3.-In a justifier fora typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapement mechanism and the carriageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to thecarriage, ,a guide frame carried by the support, a shuttle plateprovided with an inclined slot and;reciprocatingly guided by the guideframe and operatively secured to the es-,

capement mechanism, a carrier pivotally mount- 7 ed on the support,means, for rotating the carrier upon movement of the carriage, anactuator adjustably positioned on the carrier and located inthe slot,indiciaon the guide frame, an indicatoron the shuttle plate coactingwith the indicia, and an indicator on the shuttle plate co- ..actingwith the actuator for indicating the center :position of the actuator inthe slot.

A. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustab1y upon movement of thecarriage, an actuator ad-" justably positioned on the carrier andlocated ,in the slot, indicia on the guide frame, an indicator on theshuttle plate coacting with the indicia, an indicator on the shuttleplate coacting tion of the actuator in the slot, and a transparent covercarried by the support.

5. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably 'regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapementmechanism and the carriageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to thecarriage, a shuttleplate having guide means for reciprocatingly guidingthe shuttle plate on the support and operatively secured to theescapement mechanism and provided with an inclined slot extending beyondthe guide means, a carrier pivotally mounted on the support, means forrotating the carrier upon amovement of the carriage, and an actuatoradjustably positioned on the carrier and located in the slot.

6.111 a justifier fora typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the step :by step escapement mechanism and thecarriageofthe. typewri.ter,-,the1 combination ,of, a. support with the actuatorfor indicating the center posi--- secured to the carriage,.ashuttleplateprovided with an inclined slot and reciprocatingly guided bythe support and operatively secured to the escapement mechanism, acarrier pivotally mounted on the support, means for rotating the carrierupon movement of the carriage, a screw carried by the carrier, anactuator located in the slot and carried by the screv, and a set screwin the actuator engaging in the screw threads of the screw foradjustably positioning the actuator upon rotation of the screw.

7. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapement mechanism and the carriageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to thecarriage, a shuttle plate provided with an inclined slot andreciprocatingly guided by the support and operatively seemed to theescapement mechanism, a carrier pivotally mounted on the support, a gearsegment adjustably secured to the carrier, means for rotating the gearsegment for rotatin the carrier upon mo ement of the carriage, and anactuator ad- ;iustably positioned on the carrier and located in theslot.

8. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapement mechanism and the car riageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to thecarriage, a shuttle plate provided with an inclined slot andreciprocatingly guided by the support and operatively secured to theescapement mechanism, a carrier pivotally mounted on the support, a gearsegment secured to the carrier, a worm gear for driving the gear segmentfor rotating the carrier, means for r0- tating the worm gear uponmovement of the carriage, a sleeve bearing for the worm gear,,a strapfor securing the sleeve bearing to the support, and an actuatoradjustably positioned on the carrier and located in the slot.

9. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapement mechanism and the carriageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to thecarriage, a shuttle plate provided with an inclined slot andreciprocatingly guided by the support and operatively secured to theescapement mechanism, a carrier pivotally mounted on the support, anactuator adjustably positioned on the carrier and located in the slot,means for rotating the carrier upon movement of the carriage includin asprocket pulley carried by the support, a spring biased drum carried .bythe support, and a chain attached at one end to the spring biased drumand coursing the sprocket pulley and attached at the other end to astationary part of the typewriter.

10. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapement mechanism and the carriageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to thecarriage, a shuttle plate provided with an inclined slot andreciprocatingly guided by the support and operatively secured to theescapement mechanism, a carrier pivotally mounted on the support, meansfor rotating the carrier upon movement of the carriage, an actuatoradjustably positioned on the carrier and located in the slot, and anadjustable stop for limiting rotation of the carrier in one directionwith the carrier in alignment with the inclined slot.

11. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the step by step escapement mechanism and the carriageof the typewriter, the combination of, a support secured to thecarriage, a shuttle plate provided with an inclined slot andreciprocatingly guided by the support and operatively secured to theescapement mechanism, a carrier pivotally mounted on the support, meansfor rotating the carrier upon movement of the carriage, a screw carriedby the carrier, an actuator located. in the slot and carried by thescrew, and an adjustable stop for aligning the slot and screw when thecarrier is rotated to one extreme position.

12. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the carriage and the rack bar of a step by stepescapement mechanism of the typewriter, the combination of, a supportsecured to the carriage, a shuttle plate provided with an extension andan inclined slot and reciprocatingly guided on the support, anadjustable cleat carried by the rack bar for slidably receiving theextension, a carrier pivotally mounted on the support, means forrotating the carrier upon movement of the carriage, and an actuatoradjustably positioned on the carrier and located in the slot.

13. In a justifier for a typewriter for adjustably regulating relativemovement between the carriage and the rack bar of a step by stepescapement mechanism of the typewriter, the combination of, a supportsecured to the carriage, a shuttle plate provided with an extension andan inclined slot and reciprocatingly guided on the support, anadjustable cleat carried by the rack bar for slidably receiving theextension, a carrier pivotally mounted on the support, means forrotating the carrier upon movement of the carriage, an actuatoradjustably positioned on the carrier and located in the slot, and anadjustable stop for limiting rotation of the carrier in one directionwith the carrier in alignment with the inclined slot.

EARL R. COUDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,327,925 Schneider Jan. 13, 19201,458,618 Dowd June 12, 1923 2,307,339 Szego et a1. Jan. 5, 19432,355,284 Edison Aug. 8, 1944

